An information providing device is described in JP-A-2008-162466 and JP-A-2008-149844 corresponding to US 2008/0174415. In JP-A-2008-162466, it is an object to provide a steering wheel for warning a driver of a vehicle accurately by vibrating a holding portion with using a vibrator. The driver holds the holding portion of the steering wheel with a middle finger when the driver operates the steering wheel.
Thus, the steering wheel includes the vibrator for vibrating the holding portion. The vibrator generates vibration in a range between 50 Hz and 300 Hz so that the holding portion is vibrated and the vibration is perceived by the skin of the driver.
In JP-A-2008-149844, it is an object to provide a warning apparatus of the vehicle for surely informing the driver of the warning information relating to the vehicle conditions and for easily transmitting the information to the driver. Thus, the vehicle condition sensor detects the vehicle conditions, and based on the vehicle condition information, the warning display generates the warning information. Further, the vehicle condition information transmission device transmits the vehicle condition information to the driver based on the vehicle condition information.
The vehicle condition information transmission device includes a haptic information providing element for transmitting the information about the change of the vehicle conditions to the driver as haptic information via the steering wheel, which is operated by the driver. When the warning display generates the warning information, the haptic information providing element functions.
Specifically, a palm of the driver is irritated by protrusions arranged in a matrix manner so that the information is perceived with the skin of the driver. The frequency, the stroke and the operation pattern of the protrusions are adjustable. For example, the device warns the driver of a fact that the driver forgets to release a parking brake or information about a zig-zag driving.
Haptic sense of a palm of the driver, which holds the steering wheel, includes two types. One is skin sensibility, which is detected by a receptor organ on the surface of the skin, and the receptor organ is irritated so that the irritation is detected. The other is tactile sensibility, which is detected by muscle and/or bone, and a force is applied to the muscle and the bone so that the force is detected. The above devices are information providing devices with using the skin sensibility.
For example, the skin sensibility of each driver is different since the skin sensibility is varied in individual person, the skin of the driver may be injured, and/or the driver may wear a globe. Thus, the perception of each driver is varied. Accordingly, although the irritation representing support information transmitted from the information providing device is the same, different driver may interpret the irritation in a different way. Thus, the interpretation of the irritation may be varied. Accordingly, it is required for the information providing device to utilize not only the irritation of the skin sensibility detected by the receptor organ on the surface of the skin but also the force of the tactile sensibility detected by the muscle and the bone.